After yesterday’s trials and tribulations, I was hoping for a better day. It was, in most ways. I didn’t have to walk nearly as far.. only something like 27 kilometers. Also, I made sure to eat lunch along the way. The only real problem was upon reaching Fao, my destination for the day, I found out pretty much all the inexpensive lodging was full! When I left Vila do Conde around 7:30am, I quickly got lost again. This time it worked out because I accidentally took the not-well-marked river route and ended up getting ahead of a number of pilgrims that had left before me. I stopped for a coffee to celebrate, and left my trekking poles behind, walking several blocks before I realized it. Just before I got back to the café, a lady who ... read more

Although I woke up several times, I slept fairly well until 10am, having gotten to sleep before 10pm! I guess I was really tired and sleepy. In drank a cup of coffee (actually instant cappuccino that I’d bought in a store yesterday), then walked around a bit, mostly down near the river. I got some great photos of both Porto and Gaia, along with one of three young people standing on the railing, yelling, and acting like they were going to jump. They were still there when I crossed back over the bridge to Porto, so I don’t know if they ever actually jumped. I heard later that a lot of times they try to collect “dare you” money before jumping! After I crossed back into Porto, I walked along the river until I found a ... read more

We left our house in Simpsonville around 8am, heading to Joint Base Charleston. The flight to Rota Spain was still scheduled for roll call at 1510 (that’s 3:10 pm for non-military folks) and still showed 52 seats firm. We arrived at the passenger terminal before noon, and all was well. Actually, we were Ejust about the only folks there at that time. After checking in, we went to the commissary and exchange to find something to eat for lunch, and pass some time. I ended up getting some fresh sushi and Manoli got a dish of seafood salad. We ate our lunch in the food court (the only food place open was a Subway), then headed back to the terminal. When they called roll call, only 7 passengers were present, including the two of us! At ... read more

4-Day Trial Walk – Day 3: After dinner and day 2’s blog, I got an excellent night’s sleep at my buddy Richard’s house. I was up and on my way by 8am. Richard, the kind friend he is, was concerned about me continuing and offered to take me to my next stop, or maybe half way. I graciously declined, since I intended to do the whole 4-day walk to Chimney Rock or at least Lake Lure. The first leg was a bit tough, with a lot of ups, but I finally made it to my first rest stop at the W.E. Willis Grocery around 9:30, where I had a steak biscuit and an iced coffee. I was going to get a cherry danish, but some guy saw me get it and recommended one of their homemade ... read more

After a restless night’s sleep of maybe 4 to 5 hours, I climbed out of my Jeep, took care of the morning rituals, then packed everything up in my backpack. I grabbed a small cappuccino at Dunkin Donuts at the airport and hit the road around 8:30am. My backpack was obviously heavier than the fanny pack with 2 bottles that I’d used the day before. Just like yesterday, I had a printout of the route to walk, with verbal directions when to turn along with possible places to stop for lunch, water, or just a rest. My first stop was at QT at the end of GSP Drive to get a cold bottle of water to which I added my Emergen-C powder for flavor. I guess I hadn’t mentioned yet that I strongly dislike the taste ... read more